-1/2/57-1/31/57. Dr. Snyder, Claire’s psychologist, continues to analyze Claire. As he probes into Claire’s obsession with Ellen not marrying Donald, it becomes evident that Claire psychodynamically sees herself and Jim in Ellen and Donald. Janice senses Donald growing away from her as he decides to live on campus. Janice breaks up with Donald at the Sweet Shoppe where their romance began and gives him back her engagement ring. Mrs. Turner comforts a heart-broken Janice. Donald admits to Chris that he was too young to get engaged. Chris tries to set Edith up with a widower to help her get over Jim but Edith informs him she doesn’t think she’ll ever get married to anyone and turns down the invitation. Alone, she contemplates the irony of not being able to marry the man she loves while he and Claire are stuck in a loveless marriage of convenience. Claire tries to push Ellen to broaden her horizons since she was never allowed to by her own parents. Dr. Snyder points out the irony that by doing so, Claire is in danger of being just as much a controlling parent as her own mother was. He tries to get her to distinguish herself from Ellen and not try to live her own life vicariously through Ellen. Jeff pursues Penny but she puts him off because of his bad reputation. She later feels bad for a dejected Jeff, who feels he’ll never get rid of his bad reputation, and calls him up. Jeff puts a self-righteous, snobby Ellen in her place by pointing out that she shouldn’t sit in judgment of him and his family since the whole town knows her parents were separated and her father was having an affair. Penny gets mad at Jeff and relays the story of what he said to Ellen to Edith. She says that Jeff claims to know who the other woman is, which strikes fear in the heart of Edith.

-2/1/57-2/28/57. Ellen overhears Jim and Edith having a romantic discussion and realizes Edith is the other woman. A shocked Ellen tells a puzzled Jim that she, all of a sudden, has decided to leave home and go to Wellesley next year. Claire, after a visit to California, says goodbye to her brother Steve at the airport as she heads back to Oakdale. She shares with him the new perspective therapy has given her on her childhood. Ellen lets Jim know what she overheard. Ellen distances herself from Penny because of what she knows about Edith. Penny is hurt because she doesn’t know why. On Valentine’s Day, Ellen tells Penny that her aunt Edith is the other woman in her father’s life, making a shocked Penny the last to know the secret. 

-3/1/57-3/29/57. Janice comes back from her vacation in Florida where she has met a man, Carl Whipple, who wants to marry her. Janice is torn because Carl would be a great provider for her and her mother but her heart is still with Donald. Wanting to move on from Janice, Don invites Ellen to a mixer which infuriates Penny. Claire has a revelation in therapy that she never loved Jim and she was never able to be herself. Penny and Ellen make up and put the pieces of the puzzle together, realizing their naivete and lamenting their lost innocence. Edith confronts Penny with the truth and brings everything all out in the open. Penny learns that everybody in the Hughes family has known about Edith’s affair with Jim but her and she lets her aunt know that she hates her. Penny then lashes out at Nancy for keeping the secret from her and for loving Susan more than her. The whole Hughes family is in an emotional upheaval as Nancy turns on Chris and Pa taking Edith’s side over hers and not letting Nancy put a stop to Edith and Penny’s closeness. Pa infuriates Nancy when he lets it be known that everything isn’t Edith’s fault and that Penny only turned to her aunt because her mother had emotionally shut her out after Susan’s death. Claire starts to feel sorry for Jim because she knows what it’s like to be married to someone you don’t love now that she’s come to terms with it. A revived and renewed Claire wants a divorce and tells Edith she has no bad feelings toward her. Edith plans on moving to San Francisco. Edith and Nancy get into an argument and Edith calls Nancy out on her self-righteous smugness because she’s had a loving family whereas Edith hasn’t. “How dare you say that to me, Edith!” “Yes, how dare anyone speak the truth to Nancy.” Judge Lowell calls Edith to make sure she’s going to move away and Edith slams the phone down on him. Jim later finds the Judge slumped over the phone, unconscious.

-4/1/57-4/30/57. The Judge is in the hospital with more heart concerns. The doctors think it’s caused by stress. Jim and Claire have a Come-to-Jesus talk with Ellen and try to get her to see that they never loved each other and that their divorce is for the best. Ellen doesn’t believe them. Claire tries to get Ellen to grow up and see her parents as fellow individuals and not just her parents. Ellen won’t have anything to do with it and storms out. Chris is planning to go out to California to see John now that he’s getting out of prison. Nancy begs Chris not to bring John back with him because she’s scared of him. Jim tells Chris that he’s going to ask Edith to marry him just as soon as his divorce with Claire is finalized. Pa and Nancy argue when Nancy makes it clear she wants to protect her own children from Pa’s children (John and Edith). The Judge and Jim finally reach out to each other and start calling each other “Dad” and “Jim” instead of “The Judge” and “James”. They even plan a trip away with just the two of them. Janice accepts Carl’s marriage proposal. Chris and Nancy’s anniversary plans are ruined by the Hughes family being at each others’ throats. Ellen wants her and Claire to go on Judge Lowell and Jim’s trip to Florida but Claire says no and she and Jim plan to get a quiet divorce while Jim’s away. Though Jim and Claire are both in agreement that a divorce is the best thing for them, they worry about the effect it will have on Ellen.  Don takes Ellen on a date to see Giant and they talk about James Dean’s recent death and the Cult of James Dean that started after his death. Claire tells Jim she’s talked with the lawyer and everything will be over in a few months. Jim says he wishes he could see ahead because anything could happen in a few months. In San Francisco, Chris tries to keep John from killing the man who framed him. Chris goes back to Oakdale and tells Nancy John had a gun and he’s afraid he’s going to use it. Nancy tries to pressure Chris into turning John in for parole violation. Jim says he’d like to finally get his father’s approval but the Judge says he needs more time. Jim says that, for the first time in his life, he is afraid of time. Jim nixes Ellen’s plan to go along on the father-son trip with her mother and an angry Ellen tells Jim to forget he has a daughter. Judge Lowell has a sense of foreboding about the upcoming trip. Doug assures him that he’s ok physically for the trip. Ellen says that if anything happens to her grandfather that it will be her parents fault. Edith moves to Cleveland. Sally, John’s girlfriend, threatens to turn him in if he doesn’t give her his gun.

-5/1/57-5/30/57. Penny’s 18th birthday is more melancholy than last year’s birthday as Penny realizes she’s lost her innocence over the past year. Penny refuses to celebrate her birthday with her family and goes out with Jeff instead. Ellen says she doesn’t want to go with them because she doesn’t like Jeff, which is fine with Jeff who doesn’t like Ellen. Jeff shares with Penny that he feels like he never should have been born because his parents can be bothered with him. He presents an engagement ring to Penny which she declines. Chris has a heart-to-heart talk with Penny at the end of her night about what it means to mature and face reality. Penny is getting ready to leave for the weekend in Cornell and Jim is getting ready to leave for his trip to Florida. An angry Ellen won’t talk to him. A hurt Jim says, “Maybe at another time and place, we’ll find each other again”. For the first time since she gave him back his ring, Donald goes to see Janice and meets Carl. This makes both Don’s and Janice’s moms nervous but Don reassures Nancy that he’s over Janice. Janice is less sure but resolves to move on from Donald to start her new life with Carl. In Key West, Judge Lowell and Jim struggle to fight the distance that is between them and bond. Claire tries to get a disapproving Chris and Nancy to understand why she thinks a divorce is best and tells them that it will be final in a couple of weeks. Jim takes Judge Lowell to see a 3-D movie in Key West. Jim mails a letter to Edith telling her that the divorce is about to be final and he wants to marry her but, before it can reach her, a letter from Sally asking for Edith’s help with John reaches her first. The letter prompts Edith to leave Cleveland for San Francisco immediately and she misses Jim’s letter. Pa and Jeff bond and Jeff tells him that he wants to marry Penny. John and Edith reunite after 19 years and fill each in on how their lives have gone wrong. Pa learns inadvertently through Carl that Edith is in San Francisco.

-6/3/57-6/28/57. Judge Lowell declines the invitation to accompany Jim and Jim’s friends on a fishing expedition. Jim wants to stay at the bungalow because he is worried about the Judge’s health but the Judge persuades him to go. Before leaving, the two men express gratitude that this trip has finally brought them closer and say goodbye to each other. Jim leaves the bungalow before the mail comes with his copy of the finalized divorce but the Judge sees it and Claire reads hers in Oakdale. Feeling that her mission was unsuccessful, Edith says goodbye to John and heads back to Cleveland. The Judge receives word that Jim lost his balance on the boat, hit his head and is unconscious at a Key West hospital. Doug tells Claire and Ellen the bad news. Ellen relays her fears to Penny based on the similarities of Susan’s death, both having hit their heads. Chris wants to call Edith to tell her about Jim but Pa forbids it. Edith returns to Cleveland and finds the letter Jim wrote her asking her to marry him. Judge Lowell, Claire and Ellen hold vigil for Jim in Key West as he recovers from surgery. Claire tells Edith she should come to Florida because it doesn’t look good. First, Edith leaves Cleveland for good and stops in Oakdale where she furiously lays into the Hughes family for not telling her about Jim, judging her and trying to keep her and Jim apart. She declares that they can’t keep her from marrying Jim as she storms out the door on her way to Key West. Edith and Ellen run into each other outside Jim’s hospital room and Ellen lets out all her fury onto Edith and forbids her to enter her dad’s room. Penny graduates from high school without Penny. Chris flies to Key West on the Judge’s request. As Jim remains unconscious, Claire and Edith bond as they wait. Scripts. Doug Cassen delivers the news to Judge Lowell, Claire, Ellen and Chris that Jim has died.

-7/1/57-7/30/57. The Lowells try to come to terms with the death of Jim. Ellen continues to feel guilty for shutting Jim out before he died. Judge Lowell wants to make Chris a senior partner to replace Jim but will keep the name of the firm Lowell, Barnes, Lowell and Hughes. After returning to Oakdale, a devastated Edith bitterly lashes out at Pa and screams that she hates the Hughes family. Chris is mourning Jim, who he considered a brother. One patriarch comforts another when Pa Hughes goes over to give his condolences to Judge Lowell. Chuck and Penny go on a picnic for the 4th of July. Edith gets a letter from Sally saying that John has left and she doesn’t know where he is. Edith regrets going out to San Francisco because she thinks it was unfruitful and caused her to miss Jim’s letter. Edith quits Margo Salon and doesn’t want to have anymore to do with the beauty business so Doug suggests she might like being his receptionist. Chris tells Don and Penny that their Uncle John has a criminal past and was in prison. He tells them in case John kills the guy who set him up for murder and it comes out in the papers. Chris doesn’t want to keep more secrets from the kids after the secret he kept about Edith blew up in his face. Penny is appalled and ashamed of the Hughes family. Jim’s death has been the catalyst to make Edith more bitter and isolated, Ellen to be more angry at the world and Judge Lowell to be more tolerant and less controlling. Chris is grateful when Judge Lowell moves him into Jim’s old office but is sad because of the loss of his best friend. Ellen is furious with the Judge when she finds out. Mrs. Turner warns Janice to keep Carl away from Edith, which offends Janice. Edith accepts Doug’s job offer. Doug and Claire grow closer which causes Ellen to be indignant. Edith starts working for Doug. Ellen shocks Penny by saying she doesn’t want to ever marry and wants to become a lawyer like her father. Judge Lowell asks Ellen if she would be so forgiving of her father if he had lived and Ellen turns it around and asks Judge Lowell if he would be so forgiving of Edith if his son had lived. Jeff tells Chris he wants to go to college to make something of himself for Penny. Chris says he’s got to accomplish things because he wants to, not for other people.

-8/1/57-8/30/57. Janice goes to see Dr. Cassen and learns she’s pregnant. Mrs. Turner continues to be annoying. Doug implores Edith to make amends with her family and reveals he’s never had his own family and was brought up in an orphanage. Donald pursues Ellen even though she shows disinterest. He also sympathetically reaches out to an ostracized Edith in spite of Nancy and Penny’s disapproval. Donald tells Ellen that she needs to quit blaming everything on his aunt. Mrs. Turner goes over to visit Pa Hughes and brings her gossip and meddling, telling him Doug and Edith could be having a relationship. Pa’s not having any of the gossip but it gets his hopes up about Edith settling down. Pa goes over to the Whipples to ask Janice about Edith and Doug. Janice gets upset about her mother spreading gossip and getting Pa’s hopes up and lets her know it. Mrs. Turner plays the persecuted and misunderstood victim. Penny gets ready to follow Chuck to Cornell but Donald thinks Chuck wouldn’t be good for Penny. Jeff continues to pursue Penny longingly even though she’s apparently more interested in Chuck. Penny can’t wait to get away from her family who she thinks meddle too much in her life. Jeff tells her she’s lucky to have parents who care about her since he feels that his parents don’t. Claire is feeling empty and restless. Hank pursues an emotionally detached and uninterested Ellen. Al James also pursues Ellen and is turned down by her. 

-9/2/57-9/30/57. Doug, Pa, Chris and Janice all try to talk Edith out of moving to Chicago but Edith doesn’t think there’s anything for her in Oakdale any longer so she makes the move. Penny continues to hope that Chuck is serious about her while Jeff continues to yearn for Penny. Ellen lets Claire know that her resentment towards her and Doug is because she feels like they both put Edith’s wishes above hers while her father was dying. Al tells Jeff that he’s making a fool of himself with Penny which infuriates Jeff and he tells him to mind his own business. Penny prepares to leave for college at Cornell, following Chuck out there. On the eve of her departure, however, Penny is devastated to learn that Chuck isn’t as serious about Penny as Penny thought. 

-10/1/57-10/31/57. Penny tells Chris and Nancy that she’s not going to Cornell and is going to stay in Oakdale and go to Oakdale University. Edith writes Janice and tells her that she’s planning on coming back to Oakdale. Judge Lowell sells his house and Claire wants him to move in with her but Doug thinks it would keep her from the freedom that she’s finally able to enjoy. Judge Lowell wants to move in with Claire and Ellen but Doug puts doubt in his mind on whether it would be good for Claire. Bob starts high school. Al gets on Penny’s nerves. Doug visits Edith in Chicago and tells her she won’t regret going back to Oakdale. Penny assures Chuck that she didn’t start the rumor that they were going to be engaged, which is what scared Chuck off. Al continues to harass Penny. Edith comes back to Oakdale and Pa guilts Nancy into going with him to welcome her home. Edith goes to the Hughes for dinner and she and Penny reconcile though they both know things will never be the same. Edith resumes working for Doug. Pa Hughes tells Judge Lowell that he hopes Doug and Edith will get together. When the Judge talks about it to Claire, she gets a tinge of jealousy. 

-11/1/57-11/29/57. Donald tells Edith that Penny is getting a bad reputation. Ellen still hates Jeff for telling her about her father’s affair. Jeff warns Al to stop talking about Penny to everybody and spreading rumors. A defiant Al tells Jeff to quit being a sucker and letting Penny play him, which infuriates Jeff. Chris continues to work to prove John’s innocence. Penny gets hopeful knowing that Chuck is coming back to Oakdale for the Founder’s Dance. In Cornell, Chuck lets Hank know that he’s asked Diane to marry him. Claire comes to the realization that she’s falling in love with Doug. At the Founder’s Days Dance at the Country Club, Jeff and Penny run into Chuck and Diane. Penny is shocked to learn Chuck and Diane are engaged. A rejected Penny spontaneously takes Jeff up on his standing marriage offer and the two elope. Penny quickly regrets getting married and, when Jeff brings her back to the Baker home, she runs off back to the Hughes. Nancy freaks out when she hears the news from Penny that she married Jeff. Chris starts working on seeing if the marriage can be annulled. Penny, in her desperation, reaches out to her Aunt Edith once again. Edith tells Penny she can never be the little girl she once was.

-12/2/57-12/31/57. Chris tracks down Dick and Grace Baker on one of their trips and tells them what happened and that they need to get home for Jeff. The Bakers are more annoyed about their trip getting cut short than they are worried about Jeff. When the Bakers return home, they push for Jeff to get an annulment. He tells them they never were interested in his world before so they needn’t be interested now. Penny faces Jeff and he asks her if she wants an annulment. She says yes so he throws in the towel and says he’s going to enlist. Chris and Nancy quietly take Penny to the courthouse to get her an annulment but a reporter catches wind of it. A blind item report comes out in the newspaper about an elopement and quick annulment between two young university students from prominent families. Ellen and Al figure out separately that it’s talking about Jeff and Penny. Al starts out on a gossip campaign. Jeff gets wind of Al spreading gossip about him and Penny and angrily goes looking for him. Al’s dead body is found in a ravine. Jeff cracks while being interrogated by the police. Dick and Grace are incredulous that Jeff signed a confession to killing Al James. The District Attorney wants to nail Jeff because he’s a rich kid and is out to get him the death penalty. Dick goes to visit Jeff in jail and Jeff tells him he’s not going to fight the charges, doesn’t want to see him again and wishes he’d never been born. Edith stops by to visit with Carl, Mrs. Turner and Janice. Janice is excited about the baby she’s about to have. Mrs. Turner mentions Jeff’s murder trial for Al James and the rumors about Jeff and Penny having eloped but Edith is reticent. Doug goes over to the Lowells to celebrate Christmas with them and he and Claire start to flirt. When Doug learns Ellen is at the Hughes, he is concerned because he knows Edith is on her way over there. Claire thinks it’s about time Edith and Ellen face each other. Nancy is angry that Chris sent Penny to stay with Edith and frightened when Chris tells her that the District Attorney will probably want Penny on the witness stand. Judge Lowell doesn’t want Ellen talking with Penny. Lt. Cunningham questions Ellen about Al’s death. Ellen tells Lt. Cunningham that she heard Jeff threaten Al’s life when she and her friends were at the Sweet Shop. Chris goes to the jail to see Jeff and tells him he believes in him and he needs to fight because he could get the death penalty. Jeff, however, says he’s guilty and it wouldn’t make any difference if he was put to death. Jeff walks away from Chris, who is heartbroken for him.

-1/2/58-1/17/58. Judge Lowell is worked up over the scandal the Baker case is bringing to the law firm due to Penny’s involvement and Chris’ determination to help Jeff. Dick talks Chris into being Jeff’s lawyer. Chris cautiously wants Penny to talk to Jeff as he thinks she’s the only one who can get through to him. Nancy apologizes to Penny for being harsh with her when she came home after getting married. She also admits that she favored Susan and asks Penny’s forgiveness. Penny has an epiphany that she has been selfish and hasn’t had her feet on the ground. She tells her aunt Edith that she intends to change this by committing to stand by Jeff and marry him again one day. Penny goes to visit Jeff in jail and tells him she knows he didn’t kill Al and he has to fight the charge because she wants him to put the wedding ring back on her finger one day. Jeff tells Penny he wants Chris to be his lawyer but Judge Lowell is adamantly against it when Chris tells him he’s considering it. Judge Lowell insinuates to Chris that his position at the law firm could be in jeopardy if he takes Jeff’s case. Nancy is beside herself when Penny tells her that she’s engaged to Jeff and Chris tells her that he’s going to be Jeff’s defense attorney. The scandal of the whole ordeal makes Nancy ashamed and reluctant to go out in public, made worse by cranks calling the house accusing Chris of defending a murderer. Grace apologizes to Jeff for being a neglectful parent. Chris has to get police protection due to the threats the Hughes family is receiving.

 

Edited October 5Oct 5 by Reverend Ruthledge

This is a hugely valuable document for preserving the rich history of our beloved soap operas.

So much information we see about the early years is inaccurate, and a lot of data are missing altogether. No one seems to be intent on gathering and disseminating all the facts.

Thank you for doing all the work it took to compose this in-depth synopsis. It is much appreciated.👍👏🤗

Thank you, vetsoapfan. I greatly appreciate it. I'm glad there are some out there that enjoy and appreciate it. 

a  terrific episode from april 1957. hope the link works.  

atwt 10 april 1957

49 minutes ago, wonderwoman1951 said:

a  terrific episode from april 1957. hope the link works.  

atwt 10 april 1957

I always loved Grandpa Hughes.  Santos Ortega was such a genuine actor.  ATWT really lost something, when they lost Grandpa Hughes.    

6 hours ago, Reverend Ruthledge said:

Thank you, vetsoapfan. I greatly appreciate it. I'm glad there are some out there that enjoy and appreciate it. 

While I have not watched any of the current soaps on a daily basis for many years, I still remain a staunch fan and advocate of the genre, thanks to the decades in which they were intelligently done and provided engrossing entertainment.

Any opportunity to delve into and learn more about those glory days is a joy.

53 minutes ago, wonderwoman1951 said:

a  terrific episode from april 1957. hope the link works.  

atwt 10 april 1957

Sharing links to rare episodes is a way all of us get to see material which we might otherwise miss, ourselves. Thanks!

15 hours ago, Tisy-Lish said:

I always loved Grandpa Hughes.  Santos Ortega was such a genuine actor.  ATWT really lost something, when they lost Grandpa Hughes.    

Grandpa Hughes was an interesting character. Yes, he was the sage old man dispensing wise advice. But he could also be pretty salty. He often put Nancy in her place in the early years and, later, he could always see right through Lisa. 

These are absolutely wonderful @Reverend Ruthledge. Thank you for taking the time and effort to share these  detailed monthly descriptions!

 

Thank you, Slick! I appreciate it. It was amazing how complex and character-driven those first two years were. It really was like a web. I was also surprised at how bitchy Nancy could be! She had mellowed out tremendously by the time I started watching the show.

Wow. I took a bit of a soap opera break cause of work and wasn’t as online here but I wanted to thank u for this. Wow. 
 

You're welcome

Thank you very much!!!! Really interesting!!!!